Tangled Web
by OhWillothewisp
Summary: Adalind tries to gather the courage to tell Nick that her powers have returned. But the risk of losing everything she has is too great, and she finds it easier to hide her nature than to tell Nick the truth. When the case Nick is working comes too close to home Adalind will do what she needs to protect herself and her family; even if it means Nick finding what she has been hiding.
A/N: Written for the Final Shipswap as a gift for Craterdweller. This story has also crossposted to AO3 and Livejournal (same username as this one). Spoilers: Written and posted before season 5 episode 19, spoilers for anything before that.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave  
When first we practise to deceive!" ~ Walter Scott

Adalind watched the monitor to see Nick coming home, to their home. He opened the door and she couldn't help the smile that came when she saw him. Being happy was not a feeling she was accustomed to, but she couldn't deny the way she felt when he was around. He had something behind his back and it gave her a moment of pause, as she tried to determine what he was hiding.

"With everything that's happened, I thought it was time we had a proper date." Nick said, producing a bouquet of roses from behind his back. She felt a thrill of pleasure at the sight, no one had ever given her flowers without an ulterior motive before. She took them and inhaled their fragrant scent.

"They're beautiful, and I think you're right. We have a baby together; I suppose going on a date is warranted." Nick pulled her into his embrace and Adalind had to move the flowers to the table before they were squished between them. "I don't need flowers," she told him, "or a normal relationship, or anything close to it. All I need needed to be happy is you. But the flowers don't hurt." She could hear his laugh vibrate through his chest and wondered what it was she had done to be so lucky to have this life.

* * *

The restaurant Nick picked was beautiful, just the right balance of elegance and hominess that made it feel comfortable. Adalind had heard of the place, it was a new wesen run restaurant that had opened up, but she hadn't been to it before. She didn't get out of the loft much, aside from work, and she couldn't help looking around, taking in all the people. She wondered how many of them were wesen, how many were hiding the other side of themselves from the rest of the world. So many people had no idea what secrets others held, and most didn't want to know. It was better to live in ignorance than to know what was really going on.

A woman in a red dress sat at the bar. Everything about her was perfect, from her spiked heels to her painted red lips. She was leaning in close to her companion, whispering something to him and it was evident he was under her spell. That had been her once, the perfect predator, able to pull in any man under her spell. She watched as the woman stood up off the bar stool and walked away, not even looking back to see if her companion was following, she already knew he would be.

"Are you okay?" Nick's voice cut through her thoughts and she realized belatedly she had been caught up watching other people and she hadn't been paying attention to him. "I am, sorry, I haven't been to a place this nice in a while, and I guess I was just trying to take it all in. But I'm all yours now, no more distractions, I promise." She gave him her best winning smile; her charms weren't entirely gone after all, even if she wasn't who she had once been.

"You know, if there's anything on your mind, you can tell me. I want you to feel like you can be honest with me. Whatever it is, I'll understand, I hope you know that."

She wanted to be honest with him, she did. She wanted him to know everything, he deserved that. She just had to tell him her powers were back, that she was a hexenbeist again. They both knew it was going to happen eventually. He would understand, and it would be over with. He deserved to know. "I do know that. And I…" She wanted to tell him, but images flashed, still vivid and clear, of the pain she had felt when he had killed the hexenbeist inside her. She remembered the way he had looked at her then like she was a monster. The worst part was, she knew he had been right. The words froze and she looked away, "I have nothing to tell. I think you know my darkest secrets. You've seen me at my worst." Was it her imagination or had the woman in red paused on her way out the door and looked back at them? Maybe she was being paranoid. Or maybe the woman could sense Nick was a Grimm. Some wesen were powerful enough to feel the presence of one. She tensed waiting to see if the woman was going do something, but she just left, followed by her companion.

Adalind relaxed slightly and turned back to Nick, who was looking at her quizzically like he didn't quite believe he knew all he needed to about her. "Oh there is one thing you should know. When I was five I stole gum. I just took it off the shelf and put it in my pocket. The clerk caught me and told my mother. She gave me a long lecture. She told me that I had to be more careful, that hexenbeists should never get caught. She said if I was going to do something then I had to do it right, and not be so sloppy as to get caught. So I guess my life of crime started young." Nick laughed and she felt some of the tension she had been feeling lift. There would be plenty of time to tell Nick everything, for tonight she was going to enjoy herself.

* * *

The next morning Nick went to work as usual, leaving Adalind at home alone. She wasn't due to the office just yet and the beautiful bouquet that Nick had brought her was sitting on the table. It offered a welcome brightness to what was a surprisingly cozy fortress. It might not have been the kind of castle she had pictured from fairy tales when she was young, but it was safe. And being safe had been a rare luxury in her life. It featured a knight in shining armor and everything. It was funny to think about, in the stories her mother told her as a child Grimm's were always the monsters, and now one had turned out to be her prince.

The petals on some of the roses were beginning to wilt. It was a pity, to see such beauty fading so quickly. It reminded her of something her mother had told her. It was when she was still young, it had been something about the bloom fading from roses and that Adalind had to fight what nature would do to her. She couldn't allow her beauty to fade and falter over time, that her only value was her power and her beauty. If she let those slip away, she would be forever lost. It was at times like these, when she thought of her mother, that she was really glad she was dead. Stories of Grimm's weren't the only lies her mother had told her.

She wondered what it would be like as she grew old and her beauty faded, she wondered if Nick would still care for her. He was a good man; it was hard for her to think that he would care about anything as superficial as her looks. It was strange looking back on how they had started, to think that now she was considering growing old with him. One of the petals fell off at her touch. As she watched the rose straightened its petals and brightened, returning to its former beauty. She took a breath and tried to tamp down the panic this brought. Her powers were returning, as strong as they once were. But they were still new and she wasn't as practiced as she had been. She had let herself let go of the Hexenbeist inside and now that it was back she wasn't sure she could control her powers. She had wanted the rose to be new again, and it had. If she couldn't get a handle on her powers then Nick would certainly notice and she had no idea how that would go. She knew Nick cared about her, but he cared about the person she was now, he had tried to kill the person she had been. She didn't want to be that person again; she didn't want to lose everything she had. It was becoming difficult to breath and she felt like the walls were closing in. She couldn't do this; she couldn't let Nick see that the suppressant had worn off. The roses withered and wilted, their blackened petals falling around them leaving dead stems behind.

Adalind closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to pull herself back together. The panic slowly began to fade. Nick didn't know anything about what was happening to her, and he didn't need to. She had spent her life hiding her true nature from the world; she could hide it from Nick, at least for a little longer.

Her thoughts were broken when she heard Kelly start to cry. She crossed the room to his crib and picked him up, cradling him against her. His crying stopped, turning into a smile and she felt her panic melt away. Kelly grounded her. No matter what else happened, she would always have him. At least her relationship with one of the men in her life was uncomplicated.

* * *

Adalind looked down at the case files spread out in front of her. Her newest case involved a man whose wife had been murdered. She had been found in their home drained of blood. He swore it wasn't him, but the police had no other suspects and they had felt there was enough evidence to charge him. The neighbors had been hearing loud arguments from them in the days leading up to the murder. He attested to his innocence swearing that he had nothing to do with his wife's murder. As he told it he had discovered she had a secret bank account he knew nothing about, and the more he looked into it the more he discovered that his wife had a whole secret life he knew nothing about. He had been distraught when Adalind had spoken with him. He didn't understand how his wife could claim she loved him but still keep such huge secrets from him.

'If you really love someone, shouldn't you be honest with them? What does it mean if they can't share a part of themselves with you?"' That was what he had said. His doubt that his wife really loved him wasn't going to hold up well in his defense. She tapped her pencil against the table. She had no idea if he was telling the truth about what happened that night. She wondered sometimes if anyone was ever honest. It hadn't bothered her before; defending someone she thought might be guilty. Everyone lied, she had lied and manipulated to get what she wanted, and she could hardly blame anyone else for doing the same. But it was different now. The thought that she might help to free a man who was guilty of killing someone made her feel sick. She wished it was easier to tell if someone was lying. She had been able to once, she could feel if someone was lying to her. But her powers weren't fully restored yet, or maybe she just wasn't as in tune with that side of herself anymore.

Her thoughts turned to Nick, and she wished it was easier to come clean with the man she loved. Lies were so much easier than the truth for her. She heard the sound of the door opening and looked up to see Nick enter. She closed her case files and went to him. He pulled her into his arms and held her close; she closed her eyes and felt lost in the warmth of his embrace. When he finally pulled away she had the chance to study him. He looked tired and heavy with worry.

"How was your day?" She asked, trying to keep the worry from her voice. She wanted to know everything, but she had no right to push.

"There was another body found this morning drained of its blood. It was a young male whose throat had been ripped out. It looks like an animal attack but there isn't enough blood at the scene for him to have been killed there. Which means he was either killed somewhere else, or its wesen. This is the fourth body that's been found, three men and one woman. I thought it was wesen related, but I haven't been able to find anything in the books about it. A lot was lost when the trailer burned, so my resources are limited now. If I could figure out what this is, I think we'd be a lot closer to solving it." He leaned back against the counter and Adalind could see his frustration. She knew it was hard for him, to know what was going on in the world, but not be able to stop it. She wondered sometimes what his life would have been like if he had never become a Grimm. She supposed it would have ended badly for all of them. Not knowing what was in the world didn't keep one safe from it.

She thought back over the wesen she knew. She had a far greater familiarity with the more violent forms of wesen than Nick did. It wasn't a distinction she could exactly be proud of, but at times like this could certainly prove to be helpful.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might know what it is," Adalind told him, thinking back on something her mother had told her.

"My mother had a friend, well, maybe not a friend, I'm not sure my mother ever had 'friends.' But she had an acquaintance and mother told me to be careful of what I said to her, that she was dangerous. My mother was too powerful to ever be afraid of another wesen, but I could tell she thought the woman was dangerous, and that's saying something, considering my mother's standards. I never really knew that much about her. But my mother said she was a 'Lamia.'"

"A Lamia, like the half snake half woman monster from mythology?" Nick asked. It was a testament to what had happened that this revelation didn't even faze him.

"Pretty much, this kind of wesen inspired that myth. They are of Greek origin and extremely rare. For a time it was believed that Grimm's had killed them all; but apparently there are some still around. They are as powerful as they are cold. They drain the blood from humans, usually young men. They are known for luring them in with their beauty and when they are alone revealing their true nature. Beauty and the beast all in one."

"You think that could be what killed the people, a Lamia? Hanging around bars, luring people in so she can kill them? If that's true then all we need to do now is find a woman in a bar that preys on men and women."

"I know that doesn't exactly narrow it down. I wish I could be more help. I don't know of a magical way to detect a Lamia, I don't even know for sure it is one. And if it is then chances are she won't stick around for long. Once the body count gets higher and she realizes you're onto her she will probably find new hunting grounds. I'm sorry; I know that's not much help." This was important, and all she had done was make the situation feel bleaker.

"No you did help. At least we know what we are up against now, and that is a lot closer than we were." He gave her a smile that made her feel lighter, some of the anxiety that had been weighing her down lifting.

She didn't know what would happen when Nick discovered that she was a hexenbeist again, but for now that didn't matter. He didn't know, and she was going to enjoy the time she had with him. Unbidden a mug lifted off the counter and hovered there a few inches off the surface. She focused on making it go back down before Nick noticed, but it only lifted higher into the air. She tried not to let her panic show but Nick picked up on it anyway.

"Adalind, are you okay?" The concern was evident in his voice as he studied her.

"I'm fine," she said, putting on her best fake smile. "It's just this whole business with the Lamia. It's awful to think of people dying, not having any way to stop it." Nick began to say something, but whatever it was, was lost when the mug went smashing onto the floor. Nick started at the sound, turning to see what had happened and Kelly began to cry. She had managed to scare both her men, and felt a twist of guilt in her gut. If her powers were going to stay, then she was going to have to find a way to control it. She couldn't keep letting things like this happen.

"I guess I put the mug too close to the edge. I'll have to be more careful, I'm just an accident waiting to happen. I'll get Kelly, if you could clean that up." She tried to keep her voice casual, playing it off. She didn't wait to see if Nick believed her lie, going instead to pick up Kelly and rocking him until his crying stopped.

She laid in bed that night staring at the ceiling when sleep wouldn't come. She listened to the sound of Nick breathing and wondered what it would be like to be on her own again. Rosalee thought she should tell Nick the truth, but she didn't see how she could. It was a miracle that Nick hadn't killed when she was a hexenbeist the first time. He had the chance and she still didn't fully understand why he hadn't. She had trouble believing he would give her another pass. She didn't want to go back to becoming what she had been before. It was easier without her powers, she could be normal, or at least, pretend to be. She could pretend that everything she had done was someone else, that she wasn't responsible. But now she was a hexenbeist again, and no matter how badly she wanted to keep the life she had with Nick, she couldn't see how that was possible. She would never hurt him, not now, not again. But he had no reason to believe that, and once he found out what she was, she couldn't see a happy ending for them.

* * *

They discussed strategy the next day, and ultimately their options were limited. After some reluctance, but surprisingly little, reluctance Monroe agreed to be 'Lamia bait.' He would hang out in the bar the last victim was seen leaving, looking sad and lonely and hope a killer wesen picked him up. In the meantime Adalind and Kelly would keep Rosalee company and help out around the shop. Adalind didn't feel right leaving Rosalee alone at time like this, and for her part Rosalee certainly didn't seem to mind the company.

"You don't mind that Monroe's off trying to pick up a bar fly?" Adalind asked, as she settled Kelly into the crib they kept at the spice shop for these occasions.

"It's not that part that bothers me; it's that he's trying to pick up a serial killer that worries me. I trust Monroe; it's that Lamia that I'm worried about. My mother used to tell me stories about Lamia, they were like the boogeyman. 'Be good or a Lamia will come and get you!' either that or a Grimm. I grew up terrified of Lamia's. I was relieved when I found out they were extinct, at least they were supposed to be."

"Monroe has got Nick there as backup. He won't let anything happen to Monroe." Adalind told her, trying to being reassuring, though she knew it probably wouldn't take away Rosalee's fear.

"I know that probably doesn't help much." She added, "I know what it's like to have someone you care about off trying to find the bad guys, instead of trying to stay away from them. Every time Nick leaves for work I worry until I hear from him again." She knew her Grimm was more than capable, but nothing scared her more than the thought of losing him.

"They'll both be okay, I know it. They've faced worse threats, before." Rosalee's voice was sincere and Adalind wondered if she really had enough faith in both men to sound confident, or if she was very good at faking it.

There was something that was still bothering Adalind, aside from Monroe and Nick being in potential mortal danger. "What I don't understand is why the Lamia is leaving her victims out to be found. From everything I've heard about them they make their victims disappear. This one, it's like she wants them to be found. She isn't behaving like a normal Lamia. I can only imagine what it must be like for Nick, knowing what he knows. There are so many more monsters than most people know. Sometimes I wonder if knowing what's going on makes being a cop easier, or more complicated."

"How are you and Nick doing anyway? Have you told him what's going on?" Rosalee asked, opening a new box filled with colorful jars.

"Not yet, I keep trying, but I can never seem to make myself go through with it. I want to tell him, but I don't know how he'll react. Sometimes I think it's better to just keep it to myself, let things go on like this."

"You need to trust that Nick will understand. He cares for you and Kelly, nothing will change that."

Adalind sighed, she wished that was true. She wanted to believe that more than anything, but it didn't stop the doubt that gnawed at her. She wanted Nick to trust her, but she had given him every reason not to.

The bell above the door jingled and Adalind looked up to see who had come into the shop. She was surprised to see the same woman she had seen the night she went out with Nick. She looked different now, the tight red dress had been replaced by a more casual look and her hair tied back in a ponytail. But the heels were still there and clicked with every step she took.

Rosalee smiled pleasantly, "Can I help you with something?" She woman smiled back, a dark twisted smile and Adalind knew this woman wasn't here for medicinal herbs. Rosalee's smile faltered and Adalind knew she could feel it too. "I have no business with you. This won't take long. I suggest you stay out of my way." Her tone summarily dismissed Rosalee and she turned instead to Adalind.

"It's you I wanted to talk to."

"I don't know what you want, but you should leave before I call the cops." Rosalee's voice was firm but Adalind had a feel this wasn't a woman who would back down so easily.

"What do you want with me?" Adalind said. She was still hopeful to resolve this without further trouble. Kelly was still sleeping, accustomed to being in the spice shop and sleeping through strangers talking. She could only pray he wouldn't wake up and that the woman would leave without noticing him.

The woman gave her that smile again, a predatory smile, "It's been hard to get you alone. That man you were with, I've seen him before at some of my…I suppose you would call them 'crime scenes.' I figured it was best if we had our talk without him around. I can feel it, you know, deception. Do you have any idea what that's like? To be able to feel the lies people tell one another. I've been alive for a very long time and I've seen it over and over. Humans have an endless capacity to lie to one another. It started to eat away at me after a while, all the deception, all the lies. I hide what I am because I have to. I've never lied to anyone except for my own preservation. But humans, they lie, cheat and steal and still pretend to love. You cannot love someone you are deceiving."

Adalind could hear Rosalee on the phone, maybe if she could just keep the woman talking the police would come before the woman decided to do something. Adalind hated that Kelly and Rosalee were involved in this, this was her problem. She tried to protect the people she cared about, but she had managed to bring danger right to their door.

"Is that what this is all about? Because I lied to Nick? You don't understand. I didn't have a choice." The Lamia waved hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter, what justifications you think you have. I kill because I have no choice. But you have a choice; you can't love someone and lie to them. What I do, I do for the good of everyone. If I have to hunt, at least I can hunt those who society will be better off without. The man you were with, he will be better off without someone who claims to care, but still deceives him. Every man I took home had someone they were deceiving waiting for them at home. Can you honestly say the world isn't better off without someone like that?"

Her eyes turned yellow as she shifted, her face twisting and contorting until her skin was covered in scales and fangs protruded from her mouth. Her smile was sadistic as she took a step forward. "This is what happens when you weave a web of deception; weave it long enough and even the spider will get caught in its own web." She took another step forward and then stopped cold in her tracks, the sound of shattering glass filling the air followed by silence. The Lamia looked almost surprised, her cold eyes going blank. One hand moved up, then fell away as she took a few steps back then fell. A shard of broken glass protruded from her throat her blood spilling onto the floor around her. Her face reverted back to her human form, perfect in her cold beauty, even now. Adalind heard Kelly crying and looked back to see Rosalee picking him up and turning away. She was glad; he was too young to see such violence. There would be questions, questions she didn't know how to answer. The glass jar had flown off the shelf and smashed of its own accord, ending the Lamia's life. Even now Adalind couldn't say whether or not she had done it on purpose. It had happened without a thought, but she wasn't sorry.

She felt a hand against her arm, and looked up into Nick's eyes. She hadn't heard him come in; she didn't know how much he had seen.

"Nick, I…she was going to…" She started, uncertain for what to say. She was accustomed to violence, but she couldn't seem to get her thoughts straight to explain what had happened. She took a breath and started again. "She was going to kill me. So I killed her." And there it was. No more lies or deception that was the truth.

"I know, it's okay. I'll take care of it."

There were questions. She gave her statement and told a version of what had happened, as close to the truth as she could get. She told the version that people would believe: The woman was unhinged and had taken it upon her to kill anyone she perceived to be lying to someone they loved. Sean, Nick and Hank knew the whole truth, at least. It helped to have allies in the police department.

She didn't feel like she could really breathe until she was back at the loft that night with Nick. Rosalee and Monroe had taken Kelly, and they said they would take care of him until morning, give Nick and Adalind a chance to rest. She had a feeling they were doing this so Adalind wouldn't be able to avoid having "the talk" with Nick. Which was probably for the best, it was time to stop trying to get around it.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, and heard it creak as Nick sat down near her. She didn't look up; it would be easier if she didn't look at him. "My powers are back, I'm a hexenbeist again. I have been for a little while."

"I know. Rosalee told me."

She did look up at that, all this time trying to work up the courage to tell him, and he already knew. "Why didn't you tell me?" She tried to keep her tone neutral, but couldn't avoid making it sound like an accusation.

"I wanted you to trust me enough to be honest with me. I thought if I waited then you would come clean on your own, I figured it would be better that way." Nick had the decency to sound at least somewhat regretful that he hadn't told her he knew.

She laughed at that, a hollow empty sound, "Trust doesn't come easily to me. In my experience trust only ends badly for everyone involved. Deception and manipulation are safer. It looks like we were both keeping secrets. If it makes you feel any better I think what I have with you is the closest I've ever come to trusting anyone." She waited a beat, considering what this meant. "So what happens now?" She had gone through all the possibilities in her head, but the eventuality that Nick already knew what she was had never occurred to her.

"As far as I'm concerned nothing has to change. Hopefully in the future you'll be able to be honest with me. Although, at this point I can't imagine there's much left for you keep from me."

She felt the warmth of his hand against hers, and she didn't pull away, but she didn't make a move towards him either. She sat still, trying to make sense of her own thoughts. The Lamia may have been crazy, but she was right about one thing, Adalind had spent her whole life hiding the nature of what she was from the world. She had finally found someone who she could trust, who wanted to be with her, and she still had lied to him, worked hard to hide the truth from him. "The Lamia said…"

"What the Lamia said doesn't matter. She was insane and trying to justify the fact that she killed people. She was trying to make it sound like some sort of moral high ground, but in the end she was just a murderer."

Adalind shook her head, more to clear her thoughts than in denial. He was right of course; Adalind couldn't take someone like that seriously. But it was more than that that made her feel this way. "You can't love me. Not when I am what I am. We can play house, and pretend everything's going to be okay. But I'm a hexenbeist now, and we both know what that means. No more pretending now."

He put one hand under her chin and gently turned her so she was facing him.

"It doesn't matter what you are. You were still a hexenbeist when you agreed to help me, to try and cure Juliette. You gave up your powers voluntarily, you were a hexenbeist and you chose to give that up. Monroe and Rosalee both have pasts they regret, but look at them now. You've been a hexenbeist for a while now, and you haven't changed, you haven't tried to kill me. You don't have to be defined by who you were, but who you are now. I don't care what you are, I love who you are."

When he leaned in to kiss her she couldn't deny the truth of his words. Whatever difficulties might come next, none of that mattered as long as she had him. She let herself be pulled into his arms and knew in that moment, she might not deserve it, but she was going to get her happily ever after, after all.


End file.
